


Night Owls

by Arkanler



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst?, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hange Zoë Being Hange Zoë, POC Reader, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Switch!Levi, y/n
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arkanler/pseuds/Arkanler
Summary: Going back to the Scouts was hard. You had had your fair share of death. Currently a Commander in the Garrison Regiment and previously a Captian under Commander Erwin, you now find yourself back in the Survey Corps. Failure wasn't an option. You were determined to succeed, at least this time.
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Levi Ackerman & Reader, Levi/Black!Reader, Levi/POC!Reader, Levi/Reader
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, this is my first fanfic. I was tired of y/n being a pussy or a bitch. Or a pussy ass bitch. So I made my own. I know the tags say POC reader, but this is a reminder that anyone can read this. There just might be things that are harder to relate to if you're a non-poc.

Your footsteps crunched on the dry dirt beneath your feet. Quickly opening and taking a glance at the pocket watch in your hand, you sighed. “At least I’m on schedule,” you said under your breath. You were a little annoyed by the carriage ride to Trost. Dot reeked of licker as always, and it was about a 4-hour ride from Mitras the capital, to Trost. The two of you had just come from there, to send in a report to the King about what civilians had said about the Female Titan. “Remember, you have 3 months,” Dot had said to you before leaving in the carriage you had ridden together. “Don’t get in any trouble.” He grinned and took something out of his breast pocket. “ And do yourself a favor, and lighten up,” he slurred through his lazy smile, tossing a small Quarter Pint of whiskey at your chest. 

You closed your pocket watch and put it back in your pocket. You heard a voice yelling slightly. You knew you were close to your destination. “ Eating and or sneaking food into training is strictly prohibited. If I find anyone doing so again…” Turning the corner, you saw a familiar figure standing in front of about 15 cadets in the dirt road. You started to walk closer behind him. “...punishment by extensive training will be inevitable.” Most of the cadets seemed to move their eyes towards one brown-haired girl in particular. “Oh c’mon guys! You don’t need to make it so obvious!” You heard two young boy cadets snicker to each other. One of them looked at you and spotted the pendant on your neck. Widening his eyes, he quickly raised his fist to his heart. Others followed and did the same.

“ This excessive training can not be-,” the blonde stopped talking to the cadets. “ You guys aren’t supposed to salute until I have finished talking, you know?” You smirked while placing your hand on the man’s back. “Hey, Charming.” The man turned his back towards the cadets and faced you. “Commander,” he said a bit startled as he raised his fist to his heart. “C’mon Erwin, no need to be so formal with me!” You elbowed him in the chest. It was true that you were a higher rank than him now, but it just didn't sound right coming from him. Erwin smiled and patted his chest. “Sorry, I guess it’s a habit now-” He was cut off by the hug you gave him. You paused. “I’ve missed you, Erwin.” His eyes widened at the sudden contact. He wrapped his arms around your back and stroked it slowly as he squeezed you tightly. “I have missed you too, y/n'' It took a toll on you when you had to leave Erwin a few years ago. He was practically your Best Friend. One of the things you were looking forward to the most on this mission was seeing him again and catching up. You backed away from him and shook off the vulnerability you had just shown. 

“So, how are the kids?” you asked him as you tried to uplift the mood. He looked down at you puzzled. “I don’t have those, y/n” You raised your eyebrow. “How’s the wife then?” you questioned him as you turned to face the cadets. “I don’t have one of those either.” “Hmm, well you better hurry up before I snatch you up for myself!” you said as you waved your hand in the air.” Erwin smiled as you started walking through the group of cadets. “Say, Erwin, is this your squad? I can’t believe you would stoop as low as a Captain,” you said as you looked at the new faces all around you. You were actually searching for a few in particular. 

Erwin chuckled, “No, they’re actually-” “They’re mine.” You turned to your left acknowledging the sudden change of voice. You smirked slightly and put on your most astonishing look as you looked at the short man. “Pee Wee! Wow!” you exclaimed as you pointed to the man. “Say, have you gotten taller since I last saw you?” Erwin lightly chuckled. The short man glared up at Erwin and crossed his arms. Erwin’s laugh filtered out as he coughed it away. After his death glare to Erwin, he then glanced back at you. “Wow, Levi I’m hurt. No greeting to an old friend?” Levi rolled his eyes in an annoyed manner. “C’mon Pee Wee, you know I only tease,” you said as you turned back around to face his cadets.

“So this is your squad, huh?” you said as you scanned through the faces once again. “I will say, they are quite adorable!” You clasped your hands and then pointed to each of the cadets. “You’re all so cute!” You turned and faced one of the boys. “Oh, and you have such beautiful emerald eyes!” The boy turned a bright shade of red and looked down at the dirt. “T-thank you, Commander.” You smiled at the embarrassed look on his face. “Stop flirting with my cadets, y/n!” Levi shouted. 

“I’m just acknowledging their unique features-” You stopped and looked at the green-eyed boy again. You examined him once again before speaking. “You’re Eren Jaegar, are you not?” The boy widened his eyes in fear at the sudden loss of your upbeat tone. “Yes, Commander!” the boy assured you. “Hmm, then that means…” You looked to Eren’s left and widened your eyes in excitement. “...you’re Armin Arlert!” The blonde hair and blue-eyed boy was stunned at the sudden confrontation. “I-I u-um...yes. I’m Armin.” “Ah! I’ve found you, and this quickly too!” you said as you put your hand against your chest. “I am Commander y/n.” The boy widened his eyes.

“Y-you’re Commander y/n, l/n?” the boy questioned. You nodded with a smile. The blonde boy put his fist to his heart and stood tall. “You’re Commander Pixis’ second in command for the Garrison Regiment!” he exclaimed. You looked to the side as you pressed your lips together and hummed. “More or less,” you said. “I mostly just do his job when he is too drunk to do anything.” You put your hand on his shoulder. “I have heard about your-” you were interrupted. Armin fell to your feet and got down on one knee. “Huh?” You looked down at him confused as ever as your hand hovered over the space where his shoulder had previously been.. “Thank you, Commander! It was Commander Pixis and your decision to let Eren live so he could seal Wall Maria!” You looked around yourself, spotting the different cadets that looked just as puzzled as you. 

Eren followed in Armin’s actions, and so did another girl in a crimson red scarf. “Thank you, Commander!” Eren said as he saluted you on one knee. “Thank you,” the girl said in a low voice as she looked down. “Guys, get up,” you said in a stern voice. They immediately rose and put their hands to their sides. “There is no need to thank me.,.” Honestly, there wasn’t any need to thank you. You had first agreed with the majority, to kill Eren. But, the idea to seal Wall Maria with Eren popped into your head at the last moment. You had sort of pitched the idea as a joke, but Commander Pixis agreed to the plan and followed through with it. You’d never thought that it would actually work. 

“Especially you, Armin.” Armin made eye contact with you and furrowed his brows. “I am the utmost interested in you,” Armin blushed slightly and looked down at his feet. “Your plan to capture the Female Titan was quite impressive!” Armin looked back up with a frown. “But, my plan didn’t succeed, Commander.” You bent down slightly to meet him in the eyes. “But you found out that your comrade was the female titan, and that is certainly something to be satisfied with!” You held both of your hands together and smiled. “I believe I can use your intelligent mind to further my studies with ODM gear! With your intricate thinking, I believe I can improve the gear itself!” You continued to get caught up in talking to Armin and telling him your goals with the ODM gear. You knew the other cadets were probably weirded out by you suddenly interrupting their lecture, but you really didn’t care.

“Here she goes again,” Levi whispered to Erwin. Erwin smiled and nodded to himself. “She’s the same as when she left.” Levi clicked his tongue, making a “tch” sound. He stepped forward in front of Erwin and walked towards you and his squad. “Oi, what are you doing here anyway, y/n?” You turned to face the onyx-haired man. “Well, Captain…” you said as you put a curl of your hair behind your ear. “Too many of your cadets are dying, and I am here to change that.” Both Levi and Erwin looked at you with one eyebrow raised. “I didn’t receive any word of your arrival,” Erwin said as he took a few steps forward. 

“I withheld the order for it,” you said as you walked up to Erwin. “It should be here by tomorrow, consider it a surprise.” Erwin looked down at you and smiled. “Well, what a pleasant surprise.” You smiled back up at him and turned to Levi. “What exactly is your job here?” Levi asked as he looked at you with his usual expressionless eyes. You’re smile faded away as you remembered the reason you came here. You had to remind yourself that this wasn’t a friendly family reunion. You really didn’t want to come back to the scouts, but if it would help out with the amounts of death your comrades saw day in and day out, then it should be worth it, right? “I have 3 months to decrease the fatality rate of the scouts.” Levi tilted his head to the side nonchalantly. “And how exactly would you be capable of doing that?”

You closed your eyes and let out a sigh. “Think of me as a personal trainer!” you started. “I’ll help each Captain at different times throughout the week with different types of training techniques.” Levi stared at you. “I can easily do all that myself, why do we need you?” You rolled your eyes and stepped forward towards him. “ Listen, Levi, I know you may not believe that you need me, but you do.” He crossed his arms and continued to glare. “And based on recent events it seems that you need me now more than ever.” Levi scoffed and turned his head.” You glared at Levi once again before turning around.”Your training with me starts tomorrow. The days I train with you all will be picked at random, so be prepared.”

You looked at all the young cadets in front of you. You tried to put a confidant look on your face. Then it sunk in, the fear. The fear that you would fail and experience what happened those years ago all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would say that I brought the full version of Grammarly just to write this. But the truth is I was struggling in Seminar class. :P I hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to leave comments to tell me if I am doing okay. <3


	2. Skirmish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry, this Chapter didn't come out as fast as I wanted. But I made sure to make it long to make up for it. I go to an academically rigorous school so homegirl has to be up on these grades. I only proofread once, so sorry if there are some errors.

Papers. There were so many damn papers Erwin thought to himself. It was night now, and you had gotten settled in your old room. He wanted to sit you down and talk with you about how you had been, but he knew you were probably exhausted from the trip here. Erwin flipped through the stack of who knows how many papers. Most of them were letters either filled with complaints, orders, or reports that needed to be approved and signed. Erwin covered his mouth with his hand and leaned his elbow on the table as he sighed to himself. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Erwin removed his hand and sat up straight. The door creaked open and the onyx-haired man walked in. “Ah, Levi,” Erwin said as he straightened up his papers. “Hey.” The man didn’t sit down, but instead stood up and leaned on the wall. He was still in his uniform. “What brings you here this late?” Erwin put a pile of papers to the side and looked at the man on the wall. “I assume it’s about y/n.” Levi looked at Erwin and folded his arms. “Tell me why she’s really here.” Erwin chuckled as he looked down to write on one of the papers. “I am just as clueless as you, Captain. I won’t know full details until the order comes in” Levi clicked his tongue. “Bullshit.” Erwin looked up at him. Levi stared at the curtains draping over the windows. “You know her better than anyone else. She said she wouldn’t come back, not even for you.”

Erwin put down his pen. He wasn’t going to deny what Levi said. You told everyone close to you that you wouldn’t come back. It had hurt him more than anything had in a while. Why did you come back? After all the convincing and persuading to stay, your mind was made up, and yet two years later you were back. Erwin put his hand on his neck as he started to move around his head. “Instead of searching for answers, maybe you should appreciate her arrival,” Erwin looked up at Levi and a serious tone took his voice. “We can use her. She is worth more than 100 soldiers. She did say that she’s only here for a few months. We should enjoy the time and make it worth it. It should be a relief for someone to help out, especially with our current circumstances.” Levi rolled his eyes, “Tch, as if she’d actually agree to join the scouts as a Captian again.” He looked back at Erwin. “You’re happy to see her, aren’t you?” Levi questioned. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Levi tilted his head and looked at the lamp on the desk. “She left rather abruptly. She made the announcement and was gone within a week.” Levi walked over to Erwin’s desk and stood. “I had honestly thought you would’ve been mad.”

Erwin looked at Levi while still facing the work on his desk. “You think I would be mad to see my friend again?” Erwin continued to sign a paper in front of him. “I’ve missed her dearly, and more than anything I’m happy that she’s here and seems to be doing well now.” Levi pursed his lips together. “Could it be, Captain, that you’re the one who’s angry?”

~~~~~

You sat on your bed with your legs crossed, fumbling with the pint of Whiskey that Dot had given you. It had been an eventful day, you were able to see most of the squads today. You just needed to see Hange. It had gotten dark by the time you finished with Dita’s squad so you put off on meeting Hange until tomorrow. You stood up and put the Whiskey on your nightstand. You were able to get your hands on a document with all the Squad Leader’s schedules from Miche. 

You walked into your office and started towards your desk. Everything was the same. Just how you left it. It was nice to see that everything had remained in a good condition. Luckily no one had taken your room or office. It was also a bit unsettling to know that there hadn’t been many new recruits that could take up the rooms.

Before sitting down you took a stray rag and whipped off the dust that had accumulated on your desk. Sitting down, you now looked at the schedule in your hands. You hummed to yourself. Seemed that all the squads had training after their individual lunch breaks. How brutal you thought to yourself. You took a sheet of paper and started marking down the times everyone had lunch and training.

You tapped your pen on your desk. You thought back on what you had said earlier to Levi. It was harsh bringing up what happened with the latest Scouting mission in the middle of the small feud you had had together. Maybe you could clear up things with him tomorrow. You sighed as you finished writing down your schedule for tomorrow.

You opened your watch and looked at the time. It was getting late You went into your room and took off your harness and then uniform. Luckily your luggage had arrived earlier in the day, so you were able to at least wear something more comfortable to bed and get what you needed for your hair. You quickly braided your hair into two tight braids, wrapping a silky scarf around it once you finished. You slid under the covers and looked up at the ceiling. “Damn, it’s so quiet, and for what?” you groaned out loud trying to break the silence. You were used to the snores of your roommate, Elise at night. That usually helped you fall asleep. There were no crickets or any noise.

You hated being alone with your own thoughts. Whenever you were, memories would flood back. Sometimes they were funny memories like that time Dot had a bugger hanging from his nose when he was giving an important speech to your unit. One of your cadets pointed it out to you. You almost laughed right there and then. Most of your cadets were about to burst into tears. “Don’t fucking do it,” you whispered to them as you pressed your lips into an oddly shaped smile while trying to hold back your laughter.“You’re all dismissed.” he had said as he walked away. As soon as he was out of sight your whole unit burst out laughing. After that day you swear he had the nickname “Boogie Man” for the next month. 

You sat up from your bed. Sleep wasn’t coming any easier tonight. You looked over to your nightstand. Maybe just a few sips would make you fall asleep. 

~~~~~

“SASHA, GIVE ME MY SHIT BACK!” Snorts and giggles followed after, along with the sound of feet running. A buzzed cut boy ran after the brunette. “Pleeease Connie, I’ll only take a bite...or two,” Sasha giggled and ran your way. You could hear the boy growl to himself while still chasing after her. Sasha only made it a few steps past you before you grabbed her by the back collar of her shirt. Sasha yelped as you pulled her back in front of her. A nervous laugh came from her lips. “ Commander… haha… funny seeing you here this time of day!” You smiled at her sweetly, hoping to calm down her nerves. “I did say to be prepared, I can pop up any time.” You let go of her shirt and took her wrist in your hand. “Now, why don’t you give him back his bread.”

“Of course, Commander,” Sasha said as she dropped her head and walked to the boy, handing him the roll of bread. The boy turned back to you nodding with a smile. As they walked back to the tables the boy smacked Sasha upside her head. “Don’t do that again!” The girl rubbed the side of her head, “Oww okay, okay fine.”

You walked over to the back of the lunchroom and grabbed your tray and food. You sat down a few tables away from Levi’s squad. You took a sip of your tea as you watched them closely. You took in all the information you could get. They’re height, body language demeanor, etc. Most of them seemed pretty friendly to one another and close. Your intake of information and swirling thoughts were interrupted. You looked up to see Sasha before you. “It’s Commander y/n, right?” Sasha questioned you. 

You looked up at her and smiled while nodding. “Great! I was wondering if you’d like to eat with us?” You were a bit shocked by the invite. Had they noticed you observing them and asked you to eat with them out of pity? “No, I’m fine I promise,” you assured with a sweet smile as you took another sip from your tea. “C’mon Commander, It’ll be fun! I'll even introduce you to everyone!.” Sasha grabbed your lunch tray and took you by the hand. You held tight to your tea as she pulled you towards the long table filled with people. 

“You can even sit beside me, Commander,” Sasha said as she pranced over to the table, pride written all over her face. She plopped your tray down on the table. It fell with a loud bang, grabbing everyone’s attention. Heads turned towards you and Sasha. “Hello everyone, I’m sure you remember me from yesterday,” you said with a small wave. “Yep! It’s Commander y/n! And she’s gonna eat lunch with us today!”

“Ooo I know! How about I introduce you to everyone!” Sasha said as she tapped your shoulder. She started pointing to all the teens at the table. “This is Connie and Jean!” Connie gave you a smile with his mouth full of food as he waved with a fork in his hand. “Hey,” Jean greeted as he smirked at you. “Then we have Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Reiner, Bertolt, and Christa. “Thanks for the introduction, it's nice to meet you all,” you said as you sat down and took a bite out of your bread. The table was silent. All eyes were still on you.

“You guys can talk, you know,” you said as you raised an eyebrow. “I may be a Commander but I’m not a snitch.” Jean rested his chin on his hand and turned towards you. “So, you and Commander Erwin, huh?” You sighed to yourself. “How long have you known each other?” He asked. You watched as the other cadets leaned in a bit more closer. God, how long had you known Erwin? It seemed like you had known him forever. “Five…no six years, I believe.” 

“Ooo! What about Captain!” shouted Christa from across the table. “Shorty?” You hummed to yourself. “ four years,” you confirmed. Connie and Sasha scooted in towards you. “How long have you been a Commander?” “When did you join the Scouts?” “How old are you?” “What’s it like in the Garrison Regiment ?” So many questions were thrown all at once. “Uhm, let's save all the questions for a later time, shall we?” You asked as you put your spoon down. All of the cadets faced the table and started to eat again. 

“Is it really that bad?” you heard a voice ask. You lifted your head to see that it was Eren. Raising your eyebrow you questioned him. “What’s that bad?”. Eren looked up from his tray and looked you in the eye. “Are the deaths that bad that we need a specialist to come in and help us?” Your mouth opened trying to let out words of encouragement but it soon closed with the realization. What encouragement was there to give? The recent expedition took a drastic toll on the Regiment. Some of the greatest soldiers in the unit were completely wiped out. In conclusion, things were going to absolute shit. There were so many things you and the Survey Corps didn’t know, so many secrets.

You felt the stares of the ns on you. You had to say something, anything. You didn’t want these kids to be disappointed or hurt by the fact there was nothing they could do at the moment. Your leg bounced up and down under the table. “I’m here to make things better, okay. I have to make you stronger and more prepared for the things upcoming.” The table was silent. “Don’t get too discouraged, okay?” You looked at each and every one of the kids in front of you. God, Erwin was so much better at pep talks than you. 

You felt Sasha grab your hand. You looked at her with a bit of shock. “Don’t worry Commander! We’ll be strong. We promise!” Others started to nod in agreement. You smiled and squeezed her hand. 

Footsteps were heard from behind you. All of the cadet’s faces took a serious form as their backs began to straighten in their seats at the table. Their eyes followed to the back of you. You turned around and put your elbow on the head of the seat. “Hey~ Captain,” You said your eyebrows in amusement. “Y’know, we were just talking about you a while back!” The table looked at you with fear in their eyes. “Don’t worry it was nothing bad.” “Why are you here?” he asked while crossing his arms. You looked up at him. “Getting straight to the point I see,” He looked down at you with his stoic expression. You took that as he didn’t want you to mess around any further. “Well, I thought it would be nice to meet my new ‘students’ before I instruct them today.” 

Levi furrowed his brows. “Hurry up, we need to get going,” Levi said. His squad stood up and started to walk. You followed after them. 

~~~~~

“Alright, cadets!” you shouted as you clasped your hands together, curls bouncing from your head. “Today we will be doing close-up combat.” You paced back and forth in front of them. “ To make things fun, we will be having a tournament.” You looked back at the crowd. There wasn’t a single amused face in it. You frowned. “C’mon everyone, you’re supposed to be happy!” All of the squad looked at each other silently. “Everyone say, ‘Yay combat tournament’!” you said in an enthusiastic voice. Mumbled ‘yays’ followed. “Eh, good enough I suppose.” you shrugged. “ Okay, I’ll be pairing you all up now so…” You looked around at each of them. “ Renier with Bertolt, Mikasa with Christa, Eren with Jean, Connie with Sasha, and Armin with Levi.” you nodded to yourself, thinking that those pairings looked pretty good. 

“Hey, who said I would be joining in on this?” You turned around and looked at Levi. “Sorry Pee Wee, we don’t have an even number of people,” you said as you shrugged your shoulders and threw your hands in the air. “Why can’t it be you?” You put your finger over your lips and winked at him. “ Because...the winner gets to fight me.”

“Wait, really!” Jean shouted from behind you. You turned your gaze towards him. “Yea, I thought I could have a bit of fun too while I’m at it.” A sudden wash of determination filled in the eyes of the squad. Out of all things the only thing that made them happy about the tournament was this? Whatever does the trick I guess. “Alright, you may begin.” You walked around looking at the pairs getting in their fighting positions. “Uhm Commander…” You looked down to see Armin standing next to you. “Hmm?” Armin started to fiddle with the harness across his chest. “Could I switch partners please?” You looked at him and then focused on Levi who was in the distance. He looked at you with his same stoic expression. “Ah!” You put your hands behind your back and smiled. “Don’t worry, Armin. If he tries anything funny I’ll step in, okay?” 

You continued to walk around observing the cadets and their fighting skills. You heard a grunt and turned your attention to its source. It was Historia and Mikasa. One swift kick from Mikasa and Historia had lost her balance. Within seconds she was on the floor. Mikasa’s hand was at her wrist, nailing her down on the gravel, her foot on the blonde girl’s leg. “Impressive, Mikasa.” you clapped your hands a few times. She looked up at you through her strands of black hair as she slowly got up from the girl. “Historia go get some water and come back. Mikasa, wait for another pair to be finished,” you ordered as you turned to the other fighting cadets.

You noticed that Connie and Sasha were trying their best but something was off. “Don’t be afraid to hurt each other,” you said to them both. Now noticing your presence they began to actually fight. You walked over to Eren and Jean. There was an array of punching, hitting, and kicking. Jean punched Eren in the face. Eren was knocked back a few feet as he grunted, bits of blood coming from his mouth. “I’ll beat your ass Jaegar.” Jean said as a confident grin filled his face. Eren stood up and regained his balance. “Don’t get too cocky now, Jean.” Eren said as he charged for him, grabbing him by the ear and using his knee to kick him in the gut. “We all know I had one of the highest scores for Combat in Cadet Corps” 

“Sloppy,” you said as you continued to walk past them. “Huh?” Both of them stopped in the middle of their tussling. You turned your head to face them. “You fight sloppy.” Both of their eyes were wide open looking at you. You sighed, “It doesn’t matter that you had the highest combat score, Jaeger. You’re fighting is sloppy and anyone could take advantage of your stances.” Jean looked back at Eren and started laughing, tears rolling down his face. “Jean,” you said with your voice low. “Commander?” His laughter stopped and he looked back at you. “You’re not the only one with a sloppy technique, You’re the one not taking advantage of Jaegar’s weaknesses.” You started to walk away. You could hear Eren snicker in the background, followed by the shouts of Jean. 

You looked at Reiner. He had beaten Bertolt, he was now sitting on the ground catching his breath. You walked over to Armin and Levi. They were still going at it. Armin was trying to keep up as he huffed and gasped for air. You knew Levi could have easily beaten him within minutes, seconds even. Your guess: He was just dragging him out. The fighting continued until it was just Mikasa and Levi left. This would be Interesting. 

~~~~~

“How disappointing.” You let out a sigh as you grabbed Mikasa by the chin. “If anyone could have beaten him, I would have thought it would be you,” you said. Mikasa grunted as you let go of her chin, her head plopping back on the gravel. Levi had her pinned down on her stomach, his foot on her back. You stood all the way up from your squatting position. Levi took his foot off of Mikasa and stood by her feet.

“Alright Curly, it’s your turn,” Levi said as he walked away from Mikasa. “Whoa, a new nickname from The Captian Levi…” you said as you stepped towards him. “...how endearing.” His squad started to gather around the two of you, whispers erupted amongst them. Levi tightened a few straps on his harness and stepped forward. “You ready?” You put a coil of your hair behind your ear, a grin taking shape on your face. “ As I’ll ever be.”

Both you and Levi sprinted towards each other. He was the first to land a blow to your abdomen. You recollected your memory from only two years back. He was a kicker. But so were you. He grabbed you by your collar and turned you so his back faced him. Shit, he was about to lock your head. His hand barely got to your shoulder before you grabbed it with your right hand. You took the heel of your boot and stepped on his toes. It only sent a sharp pulse into his foot but it was enough to distract him with the pain. You took your elbow and jabbed him in the nose. 

Levi grunted in pain stumbling back a few feet. You turned around quickly to throw a punch to his face. One, two, three, four punches to his face. You grabbed him by the shoulders and kicked him in his stomach. You reeled your hand back to put another blow to his sculpted jaw. Levi grabbed your wrist and pulled it down, making you stumble forward. Things weren’t looking so good. 

Levi sent a punch to the side of your head. You could feel your skull ache in pain. You regained your balance. That was the tic. A smile appeared on your face, You could taste a small amount of blood in your mouth. Your adrenaline was pumping. This was fun, thrilling even. You hadn’t had a good tussle in years. You balled up your fist and extended it to the left of Levi’s head. You swung at his head with the side of your fist.

Levi stumbled a few feet to the side. Both of you were still in pretty good condition. Your plan here wasn’t to let anyone have to go to the infirmary, today at least. Before Levi could stumble any further you grabbed him by the right side of his face. Your pinky and ring finger laid on his jawline, while your thumb on his cheekbone. You pulled him close to your face. The two of your cheeks now touching each other. You tightened your grasp on the side of his face and pushed your lips close to his ear. “Lay down, Ackerman,” yous said in a whisper that only he could hear. Pulling him away from you, you quickly took your right knee and jabbed it into his crotch.

Levi’s eyes widened. The burst of pain flew up to his pelvis. Levi fell down to the ground on one of his knees. That did it. You started to catch your breath. You were sure that this would’ve been a win for him, maybe luck was on your side this once. You turned around towards his squad. Shock was written all over their faces. Yells and loud stomps of feet came for you. They all ran to you at once. It wasn’t to congratulate you but to protect you? “Please Captian! Don’t hurt her! She didn’t mean it we promise!” Jean said as he stood in front of you. Sasha hugged you tightly from the side. “If you kill her now, she won’t be able to drop the fatality rate!” 

You looked around at all of the cadets. Armin’s blue eyes were wide as he put a hand in front of you. Others did the same, their eyes filled with fear for you. You pulled Sasha off of you and started to wiggle out of her grip. “ Everyone, don’t worry.” All eyes returned to you. “He’s not getting up for a while.” Levi groaned as he put his hand on his knee. He stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “ Or maybe right now is cool...or whatever,” you said. Everyone gathered around you once again. “ You bitch,” Levi said as he finally looked up from the ground. His eyes had returned back to their usual form. 

You pushed his squad off of you all at once. A potential learning lesson was spotted. “It’s okay everyone, I promise.” They all seemed to relax once Levi stood still and ended up doing nothing. “Let this be a learning experience, everyone. Boys!” you shouted as you eyed all of them. Their eyebrows raised in a way of confirming that they were listening. “You all have a very vital weakness. That being your testicles.” You heard a snicker in the crowd. It was Connie. “Make sure to not leave the susceptible to your opponent.”

You looked at the girls amongst the group. “Now girls, work on your balance. A man’s weight is distributed evenly throughout their body. Ours is not. We have breasts and butts that make our stances weaker than theirs. So make sure to work on that.” They all nodded their heads. “You’re all dismissed.” Levi’s squad walked away to the barracks. Levi glared at you. You smiled softly as you wiped a bit of blood from your lips. You were surprised to find that he just walked away to his squad. Something was wrong. You could sense it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I really liked making it. I hope everyone is doing okay with the recent episode. I balled my eyes out for hours omg. But can we talk ab ep 7 to lighten things up. Hange and Armin looked so fine ong! And ofc Levi! But I hope this made those of you watching Season 4 a bit happier! As always, comments and feedback are appreciated. Thank you all!


	3. Beginnings

The MP’s had been chasing them for an hour. Two of them already captured. But the main prize was yet to come. An alleyway is where you stood. It was dark and a bit cold, you could feel the moisture in the air. You emerged from the alleyway and walked on the almost vacant street. It was filled with a few shops all connected together in one long strip. Dimly lit lamp post with glowing lanterns. There he was.

You made sure that the footsteps of your boots were loud enough for him to acknowledge your presence. You saw Erwin in front of him, they both were walking steadily towards each other. The man’s back faced you. You picked up the pace, making sure that your footsteps remained a bit quieter this time to create the illusion of distance. You and Erwin were only a meter away from him now. Suddenly there was the sound of the sleek cobblestone against rubber. The man turned slightly to his right and laid a punch on Erwin. You ran up to both of them grabbing the man by the collar and sending a blow with your knee to his back. 

The man grunted and sent a cable into one of the buildings and was sent flying. His feet landed on the side of the building perfectly.You and Erwin looked up, both a bit shocked. His hair drooped over his face as he quickly took out a dagger. He lifted his head up slightly and looked at you. You saw his grey eyes peek from under his onyx hair. You looked down beside you. He had shot a cable to the side of your feet. The next thing you knew, the man was in front of you and throwing a punch at your face. 

You slapped his wrist away from your face just before it landed on you. He pushed you against the building and sent a punch to your gut. You felt your body roll inward as an ‘oomf’ was made vocal from you. You felt your pulse in your head as it slammed into the wall. Your head hung low, trying to process the pain. The man spun his dagger around so that the blade faced forward. His hand was in motion; aiming for your gut. You looked up to look at the man in his eyes. He looked back at you as his brows furrowed. His eyes were the shade of dark Jaspar. The gemstone your father had shown you once when you were but a young child. 

The dagger pierced your shirt, leaving the faintest of holes. You felt the cold metal gently poke at your flesh. You sucked in a breath of air between your teeth, preparing for the cold dagger to be intertwined with your organs. You prepared your knee to deal a blow to him after the quick jab. A sudden slam echoed throughout the street. It was Erwin. A quick “Aaruugah” is what erupted from him. Erwin had punched the man in the face, sending him stumbling a few feet to the side. Erwin landed another punch to the side of his head. You quickly slipped to the side of the man and punched him in the abdomen. 

You grabbed the man by the side of his face and brought the side of his head close to your lips. You tightened your grasp on the side of his face and pushed your lips close to his ear. “Lay down, Ackerman,” you whispered in his ear. Your knee pushed up between his legs, sending a flurry of pain up his groin. He fell to his knees. You could hear him gasp for air as his head dropped down to the ground.  
You took the twine that hung from the side of your waist and walked behind the man; quickly tying both of his wrists together tightly. Erwin was the first to talk. He looked down at the man, a clear look of displeasure on his face. You could see past it though. There was a hint of anger on his face also. Erwin wouldn’t dare show it: he was always collective of his emotions. “You lay quite the punch I must say.” You walked to the front of the man on the ground, staying close behind Erwin. The man glared up at the two of you, his thoughts now recollected from the moment of immense he pain felt earlier. 

A small ‘tch’ of annoyance is all that came out of his mouth. Erwin took another step forward. “Not much of a talker?” The man furrowed his eyebrows. “How did you find me?” Erwin raised his eyebrows in delight. He lifted up his hand and extended his thumb outward. He pointed to you. “Her.” You took this as your turn to speak. A wide grin formed on your face as you stepped in front of Erwin. 

“Levi Ackerman, is it not?” All Levi did was glare at you as his knees stayed on the cold cobblestone of the street. “It took me a week to find you, but two months to learn your routine. I don’t know why Charming here insisted on us to track you down.” You could feel Erwin grin behind you, you glared back at him. “Where are they!” Levi growled lowly. You faced looking down at him again. “I assume you mean your friends, yes? Isabel and Farlan.” Erwin stepped beside you. “You’ll see them again if you agree to our terms”

Levi looked up at the two of you, anger written on his face. “So you’re bribing me.” “I like to think of it as a trade-off,” you said as you pushed both of your hands together. “What are your terms?” He was quick to ask. There was a short pause as Erwin took another step forward. “Join us,” Erwin started. “As a cadet in the Survey Corps.” There was silence for a few moments. Levi scoffed. “As if I’d ever do that.” Your hands dropped to the side. You looked down at the man with a stoic look.

“I don’t think you understand,” you said in just above a whisper. You inched your right foot in between his thighs. “Your friends are above ground. Their papers are being signed as we speak. You won’t see them again if you stay here.” You slightly pressed your foot on the seam of his trousers. “And I really don’t wanna injure you any further.” Levi scowled at you, his eyebrow creasing his face. “You don’t have a choice.” 

You didn’t have time for this shit. You hardly knew why Erwin wanted to recruit him in the first place. He was just some random man from the underground, trying to survive like everyone else. You pressed harder on his crotch. You stared down at each other. He grunted, the feeling of pain becoming viable on his face. “Y/N!” Erwin yelled. You came back from your trance. You looked down and took a step back as you sighed. 

Erwin stepped beside you and knelt down in front of Levi. “How did you know we were following you?” His voice was deep and serious but he showed genuine curiosity. Stares were exchanged. “Your clothes,” Levi said in a whisper. Erwin raised an eyebrow. “No one in the underground wears classy shit like that.” You lightly kicked Erwin’s boot and sighed. “I told you, Erwin, it was obvious!” Erwin put his hand on his neck and rubbed it. “I think our outing clothes make us look rather dashing,” he said with a smile. It was true you did like the nice dress shirt and blazer you wore, the dress pants and boots were a splurge. Hange was the one to pick it out. 

You sighed and looked at Levi. “So? What will it be?” you questioned him. “You said I didn’t have a choice, so why are you asking me?” “You don’t, but we aren’t so heartless that we wouldn’t try to consult with you,” Erwin said as he stood up from his knelt-down position. You could see that Levi was thinking. Plotting. Scheming about how he would get out of this situation. Searching for the possibilities that he could take advantage of. If it would be with it to work for the Military in the end. He looked at you and then to Erwin taking a long pause before he answered. “I’ll do it.”

Erwin smiled softly at Levi. “Welcome to the Survey Corps.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is short. I decided to leave out a chunk that I would've put in, so I could put it in the next chapter. I would also like to mention that this ff will be a bit canon divergent. Not that much though. Thank you so much for reading. As always feedback and kudos are appreciated! <3


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